Day 3 - 5 Apr 27-29

Slowing Down:
We have spend the better part of the last 3 days in a large BallRoom listening to the speakers for the conference. Needless to say not many pictures or exciting stories came out of those sessions (although some sound advise and teaching).





Beachin it:
On Friday the first session didn't start until 7pm so we hooked up with Peter and Veronique and headed down to Santa Monica. We hung out on the pier and ate some Mexican and then went down and hung out on the beach for a while. What was better than the pier and beach itself was the drive down Coastal Rt 1. For most of the drive the left side was a wall of rock or a hill with a beautiful house on the top of it, while on the right side was the ocean...pretty awesome.











Beach Potty:
I was glad to give a quick lesson on making a "Beach Potty" to Seth and Jerome...I get the feeling Peter and Veronique are gonna start noticing some strange holes in their yards in the next few weeks. :)






Our bellies hurt:
Saturday and Sunday were mostly spent in our rooms, at the pool, or in conference. One thing we did notice was that we had eaten at 4 different ethnic places in 2 days...Mexican Seafood place, Sushi Bar, Irish Pub, and Indian Restaurant...make that 5...we had McDonalds which is decidedly American :)

Thats about it. Monday and Tuesday will hold some more "fun" stuff so well post some more then.

For the Kids:
"Hi eden and james, this is mommy! I hope you guys have been having lots of fun! I'm sure you have lots of stories to tell us when we get home! We sure do miss you and we can't wait to see you and give you lots of hugs and kisses and your gifts! Have lots of fun playing with mason and skylar and we will see you soon! Loooooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeee u !"

Day 2 - Apr 26

Harbour:
Well as Day 2 draws to a close, I realize I don't have much to report as we mostly just bummed around the beach and surrounding area...I've never been so happy to have nothing much to say!

We got up and headed to the Ventura Harbor area which has a beach, some small shops and some places to eat. We went down to the ocean and did the requisite standing in the water. This was my second time in the Pacific, the first time being the Nicaragua trip (although I think we saw the ocean from another country). The thing that struck me was that "They actually have waves!", go figure.













Surfers Point:
Anyway from there we had shrimp tacos for brunch, and headed back for a nap. Then it was off to "Surfers Point" where we sat and watched the waves and guess what...guys surfing. We were one of the minority at this cool small place not to be driving a VW Microbus. We plopped down under a palm tree and watched the surf/surfing until we started falling asleep.









After that theres not much to say, seps we never were able to find the farmers market we were looking for. Turns out they changed location on us. We did however wind up driving up into the hills looking at the awesome houses with even better views. Check out the view from this one guys back yard!



To the kids:
"Hey guys its dad, I hope you are liking the pictures and having a good time with the Redmans, make sure you give them big hugs when you say goodbye. We love you guys and have some special gifts for you when we get back. Have an awesome day and be good for whoevers watching you! Love you 'jame-boy', Love you 'biscuit'."

Day 1 - Apr 25

Taking Off
We started off the trip a little discouraged as Lauren had several gallons of cosmetics confiscated at the security checkpoint. Evidently the new Mary Kay 32oz "Super Smear" facial cleanser isn't on the list of approved items...

We boarded and the flight went well, albeit a little long without a meal. We ate lunch at LAX in the international terminal (its a really nice airport by the way), and went to get our car. We paid extra for the convertible "Mustang or Sebring" so we were excited about that.


























































































































Getting Around
We then went to Peter and Veronique's and hung out there for the rest of the day. She made some awesome Pico de Gallo (fresh salsa), and we hung out under the largest palm that I've ever seen until it was time to hit the hotel and check in for the night.









































































"6 lane highways", "Crazy to drive on", "mega-dangerous"... These are the phrases I've been hearing about the fabled LA Freeways in the past months...What a disappointment (in a sense). I was looking forward to Jamaica style driving where we could bump our way through thousands of cars and everyone was doing at least 80...We were the only ones bumping and speeding! :) Actually it was just like a bit RT 97, with the same bad drivers we have back in MD. I was hoping for some kind of Super Drivers, like Cambridge drivers who grew up in DE and all drive SUV's. Oh well maybe I will find my killer road later, Im planning a rush hour trip to the freeway tonight to check things out ;)

All in all a good but busy day. Tomorrow will see us slacking off at the beach big-time. Keep and eye out for pictures and info!





















































For the Kids:
"hi guys this is mommy! I want you to know mommy got to ride on a really big plane! It was a long flight- longer than your naptime! It is really warm here and we have been having a good time .... a little tired. We LOVE LOVE LOVE you both sooooooooooo much! Hugs, Kisses, and Nuzzles to you both!"

Chronicles of Barnicles

Hey there friends and family from California. Trying to embrace the spirit of CA, we have decided to be real techie and post a daily blog of the trip.

So enjoy!

(I'm not quite sure why I picked the title for this post)